Chances
by Juicy Juice81
Summary: Previously on IGPX, Takeshi and Liz finally went out on their 1st date, but were kept busy by some unwelcomed visitors. Will their 2nd date be any different? And why is HIGH WIRE making Miss Satomi so nervous? This is the continuation of my first story
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER:** I Don't work/own IGPX, Production IG or Cartoon Network. The following is purely fictional.  
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_**Last Time On IGPX…**_  
_Team Satomi celebrated their 2nd Immortal Grand Prix championship at Satomi Headquarters and the crew kicks off their "relaxation" time in their own separate ways:  
Mark and his mechanics start working on the 3 mechs, Miss Satomi is already meeting with another potential sponsor and Andrei spent the rest of the day, with his wife and daughter. Meanwhile, Takeshi and Liz finally go out on their very first date, too bad they weren't the only ones that were enjoying their little moment. Will their second date be any better? Plus, is High Wire onboard with the team or will they end up sinking them?_

_**NEXT EPISODE: CHANCES**_

_'Fantine's Shattered Heart,  
Takeshi's Betrayal to the Blonde Beauty!'_

Liz read and re-read the headline on the cover of the paper, while sitting on an exercise mat.

"Maybe we should've asked what paper they were from."

Amy was running on a nearby treadmill.

"Why didn't you?" she asked.

"I don't know…got caught up in the moment."

"I thought reporters were supposed to let people know what paper they work for."

"Doesn't matter now," Liz said, as she was getting up from off the mat, "what's done is done."

"I wonder if Takeshi saw it," Amy said.

Liz walked over to the center of gym and started doing her martial arts training, while Luca joined Amy on the treadmill.

"Don't know if he did, but like I said, what's done is done."

"So, Liz, how did it _really_ go last night?"

Liz stopped what she was doing and blushed.

"It was…alright."

"Just alright?"

"Well, we had some _good_ moments…and we had some _bad_ moments. For the latter, it just didn't feel like we were alone throughout the evening; fans, reporters, Yuri, Johnny and then those damn reporters again. Takeshi and I are going out again tonight, hopefully without a hitch."

Smiling, Amy asked, "And the _good_ moments?"

Embarrassed, Liz turned her back towards Amy.

"Well, the times we were alone…"

Liz stopped and grinned as she looked down at her left hand, remembering all the times that she and Takeshi held hands. Amy continued watching her.

_"She looks happy,"_ she thought to herself.

"…It was nice," Liz continued, "when we were back at the race track, before the reporters had shown up again, and Takeshi wrapped his hands around my wai…"

Liz trailed off after realizing that she was describing the date last night.

"How romantic!" Amy cheerfully said.

Liz went back to her training, pretending to not have heard Amy's comment. From the corner of her eye, she could still see Amy grinning at her; and if she wasn't mistaken, so was Luca.

"What are you doing here so early anyway, Amy?"

"My doctor said that I should continue my rehab."

Liz looked back at her.

"Rehab? I thought everything was OK now…you made your comeback with no problems and you continued racing after that."

After taking a sip out of her water bottle, Amy went back on the treadmill, but decided to keep it a low speed.

"I know, but even after the race, he still thought that it was still too early for me to have returned. He knew it was my choice, but in your words, _'what's done is done.'_ Right now, I'm following doctor's orders."

"You know, Amy, you're something else."

That was all she said to her, but it was enough to put a smile on Amy's face.

Luca went up to Liz and started rubbing against her leg.

"You're something else too, Luca."

He meowed back at her and then went to join Amy on the treadmill again.  
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Over at Satomi Headquarters, Miss Satomi was in her office, standing in front of her window, looking at the IGPX track in the distance. A copy of the tabloid paper with the headline,

_'Fantine's Shattered Heart,  
Takeshi's Betrayal to the Blonde Beauty!',_

was lying on her desk. The article was the least of her worries.  
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"I think I'm gonna hit the showers, Amy," Liz said as she flung her towel over her shoulders.

"I think I'm going to go home; I have to feed Luca and then my parents are taking me out to lunch."

"Lunch, huh? I'm getting pretty hungry myself."

"You're welcome to come, Liz."

"Thanks, but unfortunately, it's pretty rare that your folks spend time with you."

Knowing Liz was right, Amy looked down as she held Luca in her arms.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"

"No, it's ok, Liz…you're right, but at least they're trying."

"I hope you have a good time."

"Thanks, Liz. Hope your date with Takeshi goes well."

The girls then waved good-bye to one another. As Liz was about to go to the locker room to take a quick shower, she heard Amy in the distance talking to someone. Thinking it was just her talking to Luca, she continued her way into the locker room, when a thought came to her.

_"Tonight should be better_…it _will_ be better." The latter she said out loud.

"What should be better?"

She jumped up and turned around, only to see Takeshi.

Out of embarrassment, she yelled, "Don't you know better than to sneek up on someone like that!"

With a grin on his face, he said, "Hell yeah I do! Espescially when you go up against an opponent."

"You know what I…"

"Chill out, Liz, of course I know what you meant; I'm sorry…you know, it feels like I've been apologizing to you alot lately."

"I don't mind," Liz said, as she started walking towards him.

"I bet you don't," he replied, as he started walking up towards her, "You ready for tonight?"

"Are you?"

"Depends."

They were still walking towards one another; Liz threw her wet towel on the floor in the corner, while Takeshi did the same with his jacket.

"Depends on what?" Liz asked.

They were now ace to face.

"If _you_ pick up the tab."

"Pick up the tab! You little piece of "  
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"Good morning, Miss Satomi," Johnny said as he entered her office.

"Hmmm…oh, morning, Johnny," Miss Satomi said, trying to sound enthusiastic.

Sensing something was wrong, Johnny asked, "Are you alright?"

She nodded, but continued looking out the window.

"If you don't want to do this today, I'll understand," he continued.

"I'm sorry, Johnny. Nothing is wrong. I'm just having one of those days, but don't worry, I did promise you a tour around Satomi Headquarters and that's exactly what I'm going to do."

Johnny smiled, but he knew something was still bothering her. He watched Miss Satomi walk over to her desk, pick something up from off of her desk and throw it away. He was able to see a picture of Fantine on the cover and he knew it was that tabloid paper.

"Is that what's bothering you, Miss Satomi?"

She grinned as she said, "I _wish_ it was. Come on, today we're going to have fun! A pilot in-training should know all the steps in becoming an IGPX pilot."

"You have no idea how excited I am about this, Miss Satomi! I wanna be a great pilot, just like Takeshi and the others."

"That's the spirit, Johnny, and I'm sure you will be. Ready?"

"Yup!"

_"I want to make this tour enjoyable for Johnny; High Wire is not going to ruin my team's off-season,"_ she thought to herself as she and Johnny left her office.  
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Back at the gym, Takeshi and Liz were standing in the center of the gym, at opposite ends; their eyes locked on one another.

"Last night, we didn't get a chance to go one-on-one out on the track, but today, I guarantee that I'm going to kick your ass, pretty boy."

"Don't think I'm going to be easy on you, Liz."

"Don't want you to be. You ready for me?"

"Are _you_ ready for _me_?" Takeshi asked back.

"Just shut up and get over here already," Liz said, sighing.  
With a look of determination, Takeshi charged towards Liz, who remained in her spot. When he was close enough to her, Liz quickly put her hands on his shoulders, put her leg on his chest and flung him over her. With a loud thump, Takeshi landed on his back, but quickly retaliated by knocking Liz off balance. They were both down on the mat, but in an instant, they both got up. Their eyes were still locked on each other; both moving very slowly from left to right, right to left, but never letting their guard down. It was Liz who charged towards him, but Takeshi put his arm under hers and tried knocking her down, but Liz managed to grab on to his left arm and tried to flip him over her again, but this time, Takeshi landed on his two feet. They were now back to back, trying to catch their breath. Liz was looking in the direction of the locker room.

"Dude, I just took a nice cool shower, and because of you, I'm sweaty again."

"Is Liz complaining how _sweaty_ she is?"

"I didn't want to be like this tonight."

"We can always take a shower again…I-I mean separate showers," Takeshi quickly added.

They both blushed, but a big grin appeared on their faces. They were still back to back, when Takeshi unexpectedly wrapped his arms around hers and flipped her over him. Now, face to face, they again locked eyes on one another. Still breathing heavily, Liz threw out the first punch, but Takeshi blocked it with his hand. Back and forth, they continued doing every move they knew, only to be blocked by the other person. The next thing she knew, Liz was against a wall, while gripping Takeshi's right arm; he was holding on to her left wrist, while blocking her left leg with his his.

They didn't do anything to stop it, nor did they attempt to counterattack each other. They were there for what felt like forever, not saying a word. Their eyes were still locked on, but not for combat. They blushed as a smirk appeared on both their faces.

"_This_ I can get used to," she said.

"I think I already have."

They both started moving towards one another when they heard someone clapping. They both looked in the direction of where it was coming from. From out of the shadows, a short black-haired man appeared, dressed in a business suit.

_"Not again! Not another reporter!"_ Liz thought.

"Can we help you with something?" Takeshi asked the guy.

"As a matter of fact…no. I just came down to check you guys out. I can see I missed your other teammate. Not a big deal, I'll get another opportunity," the man answered with a sly smile on his face.

"An opportunity? Who are you?" Liz asked, sounding frustrated.

"In good time, Miss Ricarro. It's a pleasure meeting you both in person, especially you, Mr. Jin."

Takeshi eyed him suspiciously.

"What do you want?"

The man walked closer to the couple. Now in the dim light, they could see his facial features. He wore thin glasses, but his left eye was closed; a small scar was seen above the eye. His hair now appeared to be a shade of dark purple, with a white streak in the center. He looked shorter in person, but the suit made him look dignified.

"Didn't you hear me? I came to check you guys out. I'm impressed. My company will be delighted to hear my report."

"Company?"

"High Wire, of course," the man answered.

Takeshi was still eyeing him, but Liz's ears perked up.

"High Wire? You guys joining us?" she asked.

With a look of confusion, the man looked back at her. After a few seconds, he started laughing this hearty laugh.

"_Join you_? Sure, ok…yes, _join_ you. I gather you haven't talked to the lovely, Miss Satomi yet?"

Takeshi and Liz shook their heads.

"I'm sure she'll contact you about the whole thing…no need to worry," he answered, turning his back towards them.

"Is there a problem?" Takeshi asked.

The man continued walking to the exit, not answering his question. Takeshi and Liz were left alone, with many unanswered questions. Pissed, Liz then went to look for the guy, with Takeshi following close behind, but when they got outside, there was no sign of him anywhere.  
"What the hell?"

"I don't know. Should we contact Mis Satomi?" Takeshi asked her.

"You know how she works; if she needs us, she'll call. Give her time."

Takeshi nodded, but this encounter was very odd.

_"Was he watching us the entire time? Is High Wire with us…or against us?"_ Takeshi thought.

"Does this mean tonight is ruined too?" Liz asked, looking down.

Takeshi took her hand and held it with his own.

"No. Tonight will be better than last night, I promise. Whatever is going on with this damn company would have to wait for another time. I'm going to take off though; I wanna get ready."

"OK, I'm going to get ready myself. Of course, this means that we will have to do this again…our little match."

"I'll be ready like always," Takeshi said with a grin.

They both said their good-byes and went their separate ways.

_"Miss Satomi,"_ Liz was thinking, _"hope everything is alright"  
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_That's it for chapter 1; keep in mind, this is a continuation of my first fanfic story/episode, Later That Day. Chapter 2 will be posted soon. : )_


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't work/own IGPX, Production IG or Cartoon Network.

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**CHAPTER 2:**

Working in the garage at the bottom of Satomi Headquarters, Mark was busy at his station. He and his crew were working on Amy's mech; they were debating whether or not they should add a new set of legs to her mech. The old ones increased her agility, but had low defense; the new set increased her defense, but the agility would go drastically down.

"We still need her mech to be quick, but we also need to concentrate on how she can protect herself," Mark said.

"Mmhmm Mmhmm," his three-men crew agreed in unison.

"Amy's smart!"

The four men turned around and saw Johnny standing by the door with Miss Satomi. Mark nodded his head and grinned at Johnny.

"We all know that both her and Luca have a keen sense and quick wit, but we still need her to mech to withstand powerful blows."

"How is everything coming along?" Miss Satomi asked.

"So far so good. We managed to put in two new parts, but we're still waiting for the wireless security upgrades."

"Still waiting," the three mechanics said in unison, looking disappointed.

Johnny noticed Miss Satomi looking down and making a fist.

"Guys…we have a problem"  
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Liz was sitting at her desk looking at pictures of the land she recently bought.

_"My land…"_ she thought to herself, "…_my 'expensive' land."_

She knew it was worth it; bringing back her former home also meant bringing back the people who worked at the old orphanage and, more importantly, giving orphaned kids a place where they can feel safe and…loved.

Liz's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Come in," she said.

The door slid open to reveal Jesse holding a small tote.

"Hi ya, Liz!" she cheerfully said.

"Thanks for coming over, Jesse."

"Glad to help. Oh, and I haven't told anyone that I was coming over here."

"You sure?"

A look of hurt appeared on Jesse's face.

"Huh?"

"Well, you did send out Yuri to spy on us last night."

Jesse chuckled nervously.

"I-I'm so sorry for that! I shouldn't have done…"

"Forget about it." Liz interrupted, "Consider helping me out today for making up what happened yesterday."

Jesse beamed from ear to ear, feeling relieved.

"So, what do you want to work on first?" she asked.

Liz thought for a moment.

"Not much I can do with my hair and I'm not big on wearing jewelry, so I guess it's on to the clothes," she said, while walking over to her closet.

Jesse became excited as she remembered that Liz received a trunk-load of new wardrobe as part of her contract deal with Erin Aikins' clothing line. She was standing directly behind Liz, looking over her shoulders, anxiously awaiting to see what she had.

"Uh, Jes, I kinda need room here," Liz said to her.

"Oops, sorry!" Jesse said, stepping back a bit.

Liz dragged out box after box after box, all labeled with the Erin Aikins' seal.

"Have you seen or worn any of them?"

"Some, yeah, but only when I needed something for a photo shoot," Liz answered.  
"Where are you guys going?"

"Out to eat at some restaurant; fancy or regular…I don't know."

Jesse frowned as she wasn't given a lot to work with.

"Well, I guess it's safe to wear something casual; something that will fit in either a fancy or regular restaurant," Jesse said, stating the obvious.

Both girls spent an hour trying on different clothes; from sheer to lace, from satin to even polyester. As a thank you for helping her out, Liz even gave Jesse two new sets of shirts and a beautiful silk scarf. Finally, it was down to the last box. Jesse was nervous while Liz was becoming frustrated.

"This is freakin' dumb."

"What is?"

"What we're doing; I didn't want to act this way."

Jesse stared at Liz, with a look of understanding on her face.

"Hey, Liz, no one is trying to make you any different than what you are. Wear whatever you want to wear, but you _did_ call me to come over and help you get ready."

I know that, but this is all so new to me."

"You'll be fine, you're just a little nervous."

"I'm _not_ nervous!"

"Yes, you are and I think it's so cute!" Jesse said, smiling.

Liz blushed as she was opening the last box. Jesse noticed a grin forming on Liz's face.

"I think I found something."

Jesse walked over to where Liz was and looked inside the pink and black box; she felt the fabric.

"Ooh…it feels so soft. What material is it?"

"It kind of feels like satin, but softer."

"Try it on!"

With Jesse facing the other direction, Liz took off her tank top and sweats, for what felt like the 100th time that day, and slipped into the new top and mini skirt.

"OK."

Jesse turned around and clasped her hands together; she was beaming from ear to ear again.

"Liz, you look _beautiful_!" she exclaimed.

"Knock it off," Liz said, blushing.

"No, really, you do! I have to take a picture!"

Jesse ran to where she placed her tote to retrieve her small camera.

"Jesse, please, it's not a big deal. No pictures."

"Why? Today is a special day."

"Jes, it's me and Takeshi, not the President and First-Lady."

"I know, silly, but it would be nice to take a picture for a memory keepsake. Aren't you a model now, anyway? You should be used to people taking pictures of you, Liz."

Liz looked at her reflection in the mirror.

"Jesse, I only became a model to…"

"Help out your old orphanage," Jesse said, finishing Liz's sentence.

"How'd you know?"

"We all figured it out during the All-Star Festival."

"Oh…"

"I think what you're doing is great, Liz! And…I won't take your picture."

Feeling relieved, Liz thanked her.

Jesse winked her eye and said, "I'll take a _couple_ picture then."

"Jesse, we're going out on a _date_…a _second_ date. We're not getting married."

"Not yet…" Jesse said, with a smirk on her face.

Liz sighed, "Look, I'm cool with you helping me and all, and I'm happy that everyone's happy that _we're_ happy, but I don't like that, _'ooh, awww, mmm'_ type of thing."

"But you guys look so cu…"

Liz glared at her.

"…Uhh…never mind," Jesse nervously said.

Liz groaned.

"Now what's wrong?"

"I wish I knew where we were going. How can Takeshi be so dense?"

"What difference does it make? What you have on goes with…well, any_ place_. And does it matter where you two go? As long as you're together, it shouldn't matter at all."

"Jes, that was _cheesy_."

"You like it and you know it's tru…oh, excuse me," Jesse said, when her cell phone started ringing.

Liz continued looking at herself in the mirror; she started to get a little nervous.

_"We're going to have a good time. Everything's cool; it's all good,"_ she thought.

"Hey, Liz, that was Miss Satomi. I gotta go."

"Anything wrong?"

"Don't know; she wants me to meet her at her office."

"Wonder why."

"I'm sure everything's ok, but I'm gonna head on over there after I help you clean up here."

"It'not a problem; I got it," Liz said.

Jesse was almost out the door, when Liz called out to her.

"Thanks."

Jesse grinned.

"Anytime. Have fun tonight!"

After the door slid closed behind Jesse, Liz looked at all of the scattered clothes, open boxes and tissue paper.

"Hmmm," she sighed, "I'll clean this up later."

She looked back in the mirror.

_"Well, I do look pretty damn good,"_ she thought, _"As long as we're together…you know, I do like the sound of that"  
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"So big bro', where are you taking Liz tonight?" Yuri asked Takeshi, while riding around on her scooter in his room.

"None of your business!"

"Aww, come on, Takeshi! I won't tell."

"No, Yuri. I want tonight to be special for Liz and me."

"After _everything_ that I have done for you, this is how you treat me!" Yuri asked, looking very hurt.

"That's _exactly_, after _everything_ that you allegedly have done for me, why I'm not telling you," he responded, while looking for something to wear.

Pouting, Yuri got off her scooter, and sat on his bed. She glanced at his table and picked up the puzzle that Liz gave to her to give to him.

"So, you've finally figured out this stupid thing, huh? Can I try?"

Takeshi looked over and spotted Yuri holding the puzzle.

"Alright, but don't break it or anything. It's mine and it's important to me."

"Geez, relax, I won't even touch it," she said, placing it back on the table.

"Ok, Yuri, I'm going to change."

"Takeshi, please don't wear that bow-tie with the suit," she said, when she saw him holding it.

Takeshi looked at her and raised his eyebrow.

"Why not? What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing, if you want to look like a guy who looks like a little kid. It was cute when you were five; it ain't cute now."

"I look stupid with it?"

"You look stupid all the time, but more so, when you wear that."

"Get out."

"Fine. I try to give you some advice, and this is the thanks I get. No appreci…"

"Get out!" Takeshi yelled.

"As Yuri was leaving on her scooter, she stopped and smiled at him, while he had his back towards her.

_"Good luck, big bro',"_ she thought to herself.

As if reading her thoughts, Takeshi, while still having his back towards her, said, "Thanks, Yuri…for the advice."

"Your welcome. Tell Liz I said 'Hi'."

Takeshi nodded his head and continued taking his clothes out. He checked his cell phone for the time and realized that it was almost time for him to meet her.

_"Damn, I'm nervous! You can do this. Everything's cool; it's all good,"_ he thought to himself.

Takeshi rushed in and out of the bathroom and was dressed in his black suit, with a white shirt underneath his jacket, within 15 minutes.

_"This night will be perfect"_

Takeshi left his house…on his way to meet Liz.

_"Liz,"_ he thought, _"I'm going to meet up with Liz...I'm going to meet up with...my…my…girlfriend."_

Takeshi smiled as the realization of he and Liz, as a _couple_, kicked in.  
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_I'm sorry that this chapter is long, and for some, maybe even boring, but I wanted to add some backstory to Liz and Takeshi getting ready for their second date. Chapter 3 coming soon. : )_


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not work/own IGPX, Production I.G. or Cartoon Network

**CHAPTER 3:**

"Andrei! Miss Satomi just called; she's having a meeting in her office soon," Jane called out to her husband.

Andrei was finishing reading the tabloid paper his daughter, Sage, had left for him on his desk.

"Did she say what for?" he asked Jane.

"Just that it was urgent. She didn't give me the full details, only that to meet her at the office and to _not_ tell Takeshi, Liz or Amy."

Andrei put down his cup of coffee that Jane had made for him, and sighed.

"Hmmm, well, guess I should get going then. Is that alright with you?"

Jane smiled at him and took his hand.

"All Sage and I want is our husband and father back; don't be so distant with us. We _all _love the IGPX…and we all love _you_."

Feeling embarrassed, Andrei looked down.

"I have a lot of catching up to do with this family. I-I've been nothing but a jackass…"

"We _know_…"

Andrei looked up at her.

"…_That _you have a lot of catching up to do…we all do. We have plenty of time."

Andrei looked back down again and closed his eyes. A few seconds later, he cleared his throat and looked back at his wife. He placed his hands on her arms and gently kissed her on her lips.

"I'll try to be back home before dinner."

"Take your time," she said.

Andrei was already out the door, when Sage was running after him.

Panting, she asked, "Hey, Dad, can you , uhh, maybe ask Amy…and the others…for their autograph?"

"I don't know if I'm going to get a chance to see them today."

"Whenever," she replied, handing him a small book with a marker attached to it.

"A big fan of Amy's, huh?"

Sage blushed.

"Well, after the accident, she came back and tried her hardest to help her team. Plus, we're almost the same age and it's rare for people to look up to someone that young."

"I'm sure she'll like to meet you. Don't worry, I'll get you the autograph…"

"Don't forget Takeshi!" Sage cheerfully added.

He raised his eyebrow and suspiciously looked at her.

"Takeshi too, huh?"

Sage blushed again.

"I-I didn't finish…Don't forget Takeshi _and_ Liz's autograph."

Andrei grinned and turned towards his car. He waved good-bye to her, got into his vehicle and headed for Satomi Headquarters.

Sighing, he thought, _"Hope this is a 'good news' meeting."  
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Takeshi was standing in front of Liz's door. In his hand, was the puzzle that Liz _gave_ to him. He looked at it for awhile, before placing it back in his pant pocket. Takeshi knocked on her door.

"Come in," he heard Liz saying on the other side.

The door slid open and Takeshi thought that he was going to swallow his tongue. There, in front of him, stood Liz Ricarro, wearing a strapless black top, that covered half of her firmly toned stomach, and a black miniskirt, that opened a little, on the side. She wore black stiletto boots that went up to her knees and on her head, tilting to one side, was a black newsboy cap.

Takeshi continued gawking at her.

"WILL YOU SAY SOMETHING ALREADY!" Liz yelled, feeling dumb with him staring at her like that.

"Y-You, uhh…wow," he stammered.

Liz blushed as she fixed her gaze on the wall, not wanting to look back at Takeshi, who was still staing at her.

"Stop it," she muttered.

Takeshi snapped back to reality.

"Huh?"

"Stop staring at me."

"S-Sorry, Liz, it's just that I-I'm…I've never seen you dressed up like this before. I-I mean except for your modeling pics and for the opening ceremonies, but n-never li…"

"Shut up, will ya?"

"S-Sorry…"

"So, where are we going?" she asked.

Tryng to regain his composer, Takeshi answered, "It's a surprise…it's not a big deal or anything, but…you'll see."

"Okay, well, ready then?"

"Y-Yeah," he answered.

"How far away is this place?"

"Not far, but not close."

"Give me a straight answer."

"I just did," he replied, with a smirk on his face.

Liz huffed.

"You want me to walk in _these_?" she asked, pointing down to her boots.

"No one told you wear them," he said.

"Takeshi, you are dense! You shouldn't let any girl suffer on a date."

With a grin spreading on his face, Takeshi replied, "There we go again, Miss Liz Ricarro complaining."

Liz's face turned bright red with anger, while he turned around, and headed for the door.  
With her fists tightning, she watched as the door slid closed behind him.

"You coming or not?" she heard him ask from the other side of the door.

"DON'T RUSH ME!"

"If we don't leave now, the hot dog stand will close before we get there!"

"THE _HOT DOG STAND_!" she yelled, while heading for the door, "WE'RE GOING TO A….!"

She opened the door and saw Takeshi standing there, with a grin on his face, holding a beautiful bouquet of flowers.

Speechless, Liz took the flowers and stared at Takeshi.

"I remembered the flowers that those kids were holding on stage that night during the competition. Thought you might like them."

"Take…Th-Thanks…Thank You."

"Okay, we should go. I'm craving for a chili dog right now…"

"We're not really going there, are we?" she asked, sounding relaxed.

"Maybe…maybe not."

"Take…"

Takeshi took her hand and said, "I promise that tonight will be a very good night. Relax."

Liz nodded her head, and with one hand holding the flowers and the other holding Takeshi's hand, they both made it outside to an awaiting limo.

"So, we're not walking? Awesome," she said, while the limo driver was opening the door for them.

"Totally. I've never been in a limo before, but I wanted tonight to be perfect. And…thank Amy for this."

"Amy?" she asked when they were sitting inside.

"Yeah. Her family have several drivers and she asked the company if they could do us a big favor."

"Oh…in return for what?"

"That they could see the first race of the new season for free."

"Not bad. Wait a minute, if the limo _wasn't_ here, then we _were_ going to walk?"

"I'll never tell," he replied, with a grin on his face.  
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Mark and his crew were standing by the window in Miss Satomi's office, while Jesse and Johnny were on the couch.

"How did Miss Satomi appear to you?" she asked Johnny.

"Quiet at times, but she always had a smile on her face."

"Hmmm…I don't like this at all," Jesse said.

"She wanted to call a meeting after I mentioned that the security upgrades haven't arrived yet," Mark said.

"High Wire…" Jesse said.

"Huh?" everyone else asked in unison.

"I know High Wire is the new gaming company, but don't they also supply parts and upgrades for computers and stuff?"

"That's right. I ordered the added security when I found out about the company. They asked what it was for and I told them that I was one of the mechanics for Team Satomi. I didn't tell them the whole story of _why_ we needed it, but they were more than happy to help out. They even wanted to be part of the team, so I talked to Miss Satomi and we both thought that they wanted to sponsor us."

Just then Miss Satomi and Andrei arrived together. She walked over to her desk and sat on her chair, while Andrei sat next to Johnny on the couch.

Johnny felt a little out of place.

"Excuse me, Miss Satomi, should I go and leave you all alone to talk?"

"No, it's fine. You're part of the team now. I'm sorry that we had to cut the tour short," she replied.

"Not a problem. I did have fun."

Miss Satomi smiled at him, but quickly faded as she remembered why she called the meeting.

"Guys, you've all heard about High Wire, right?"

Everyone nodded.

"Well, the meeting didn't go quite as I hoped for…in fact, it was _nothing_ of what I had hoped for."

She sat up straight in her chair and put her elbows on her desk, with her chin on top of her clasped hands.

"So much for a 'good news' meeting," Andrei said.

Mark sat on the arm of the couch, next to Jesse.

"High Wire doesn't want to sponsor us. They don't want anything to do with us, except, maybe, beat us."

"Beat us?" Jesse asked.

"They already have their_ own_ team…and I thought it was illegal to have _anything_ else drive the mechs, but they managed to do it. They also lied to you Mark; they just wanted to know any info about our team. They were never going to help us."

"I think you've lost us. Maybe you should start from the beginning," Andrei said.

Miss Satomi stood up and walked closer to the group.

"Okay. It all started---"  
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"Liz, you gotta put this on," Takeshsi said, as he was taking out, what looked like a handkerchief , from out of his pocket.

Liz looked down and saw that it was a blindfold.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I want _where_ we're going to be a surprise, so you have to wear this till we get there."

Takeshi, this better not be a stupid joke or something."

"Didn't I say for you to _relax_? It's not a joke…just trust me."

Liz reluctantly placed the blindfold over her eyes.

"Are we almost there yet?" she asked, feeling that she just let her guard down.

"Almost…few more minutes longer."

Liz then heard Takeshi chuckling.

"What?" she asked him.

"Nothing…just that it's not everyday a guy has a girl, with a blindfold on, in a limo at night."

"If you try anything, so help me, I'm…"

"Liz, shut up. We're here."

Liz felt the limo making a right turn, heard it drive over what sounded like rocks or pebbles, and then finally stopping. Everything around her became silent.

_"Feels like I'm going to be executed or something,"_ she thought to herself.

She eventually heard a door open and close, presumably the driver's, and then heard the door on her right, where Takeshi was sitting, opening.

"Thank You," she heard him say to the driver.

Takeshi took Liz's hand, and helped her out of the limo.

"Can I take this thing off of me now?"

"Nooo. A few more steps and we're there," he said.

After a few minutes of Takeshi holding her hand and helping her along the path, they both stopped.

"OK," he said, "we're here."

She felt him taking the blindfold off, and when her eyes came into focus, she saw a small table with two candles in the center. To her left, was a waiter and a chef, both smiling.  
Next to them, was a bigger table filled with more flowers, the same ones he got for her, and plate after plate after plate filled with different kinds of food.

She turned her gaze on the scenery around her. In the far distance, she could see the city, filled with lights, and the IGPX race track. Around her though, she saw many trees and a small section on her right, with more flowers. It took her a minute to realize where they were.

"Takeshi…is this…"

A huge smile appeared on Takeshi's face, "Yup! _Your_ land---"  
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	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4:**

"But, how did…"

"I told you I wanted tonight to be perfect. You never told us why you joined Erin Aikins' company…"

"Jesse said that you guys figured it out that night…"

"At the festival, yeah, but I didn't know that you bought land; I just thought that you were going to donate your prize money or something. Don't get mad, but I wanted to help out too, so I made a few calls and found out that this place is yours. I though it would be nice to have dinner here."

Liz continued looking around again, not knowing what else to say. The waiter was now escorting the two to their table.

Liz abruptly sat down before the waiter had a chance to pull the seat back for her. Takeshi took his seat across from Liz.

"Hello, my name is Kuya and I'll be your waiter for tonight. Would you like to start off with anything to drink?"

"Uhh…champagne is fine," Takeshi said.

"And you, Miss Ricarro?"

"The same, I guess," Liz answered.

Kuya smiled.

"Two _non-alcoholic_ champagne, coming up."

As he walked back to the other table to get the drinks, the chef was busy preparing the meal over two small table-top stoves. Next to the stoves, were two covered trays with several plates and utensils on each side.

When the waiter was coming back with their drinks, he stopped in front of a small stereo on a table and turned it on. After a few seconds, they all heard the smooth sounds of a saxaphone playing.

"Your meal will be ready in just a few minutes, but in the meantime, we have some freshly baked potato rolls and a platter of delicious tropical fruit," Kuya said, with a wide smile.

Takeshi thanked him, but Liz was eyeing him when Kuya walked back to the other table.

"That guy sure has a lot of teeth," she mumbled.

"Liz, shhh! He might hear you," Takeshi whispered.

"Didn't you get a weird vibe from him?"

Takeshi shook his head as he took another sip of champagne.

"This is nice."

"What is?" she asked.

"My new girlfriend is already looking at other guys."

"I'm _not_ che…wait, what did you just call me?"

Blushing, Takeshi looked down at his glass.

"M-my, you know…" he mumbled.

Liz leaned forward a little.

"Your _what_?"

Takeshi looked back up at her and blushed some more.

"M-my…my girl-"

"Here we are!" their waiter cheerfully said, as he placed the platter of fruit on the table.

Liz and Takeshi snapped back to reality. Kuya left and came back with some plates and utensils, and a basket full of potato rolls, with some packs of butter spread.  
Liz used a spoon to scoop up several pieces of fruit, while Takeshi started spreading butter on his rolls. Kuya walked back to the other table again.

"So, anyway, what were you saying about Kuya?" Takeshi asked her.

"Something about him is bothering me; I just can't pinpoint it," Liz answered, with her mouth full.

"I think I know what's going on?"

"What?"

Takeshi put down his roll, folded his arms on the table, and leaned forward.

"I _think_ that you're purposely trying to find something wrong with our date."

Liz raised one of her eyebrows.

"Why the _hell_ would I want to do that?"

"Beats me. _Maybe_, since the night is going so smoothly, you think that eventually something or _someone_," he said, motioning towards the waiter, "is going to ruin it."

"Oh, so, now you think I'm paranoid ?"

"I didn't sa-"

"Because I'm _not_!"

"Okay."

"Fine."

"Alright then."

Both of them became silent as the waiter came back, rolling a small table cart with their food.

Kuya stopped near their table, slung a hand towel over his left shoulder, and removed the covers fromm off two plates.

"Dinner is served," Kuya said, with a wide smile.

Takeshi and Liz smiled as the delicious aroma of grilled baby back ribs with a side of mashed potatoes sprinkled with basil, filled the air. Kuya removed the platter of fruit and replaced it with their dinner on the table.

As Liz was laying a napkin on her lap, Kuya dropped his towel on the ground, next to Liz.  
As he bent down to pick it up, a huge smile appeared on his face.

"I find you quite alluring, Miss Liz Ricarro," he whispered to her.

When Liz looked at him, his smile quickly faded. She continued looking at him as he got up back up.

"Enjoy your meal."

"Tell the chef, 'Thank You,'" Takeshi said to him, unaware of what happened between he and Liz.

"Will do."

As Kuya walked over to the chef, Liz leaned forward.

"Did you hear what he said?"

Takeshi was already eating one of the ribs.

"What? 'Will do?'"

"No! He said to me a few minutes ago, 'I find you quite alluring, Miss Liz Ricarro.'"

Takeshi put down the rib amd loked at her with a serious look on his face.

"Liz, that weird vibe you said you felt…I think I know what it was."

"…What?" she cautiously asked.

"You _finally_ found a fool, I mean a _fan_."

Liz was silent as she looked at Takeshi; no expression on her face whatsoever.

"Oh, come on," he continued, "so, he complimented you. It wasn't like he was flirting with you."

"First of all, when you _whisper_ to someone that you find him or her alluring, when he or she is on a _date_, with someone else, that's _flirting_ and _disrespectful_."

Takeshi just sighed as Liz continued.

"Second of all, it's the _way_ he said it."

"Ok. You're right…I'll go over there and tell him off."

"N-no…just forget it. Maybe, you're right; I keep thinking that something will go wrong tonight."

Takeshi placed his hand on top of hers and smiled.

"Liz, I'm sorry for acting like a jerk, but I'm a little nervous, myself. I will go over there and tell him off though."

Liz looked down at their hands and grinned.

"No, it's ok. I'll try to relax…and I'm not nervous."

Takeshi grinned at her.

"Yeah, you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes you are."

Takeshi let go of her hand and they both continued eating their dinner.

"Were you really going to go over there, Takeshi?"

Takeshi looked up at her and winked.

"Why wouldn't I? Nobody hits on my…_girlfriend._"  
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_Sorry it took so long for me to upload this chapter. Chapter 5 is next!_


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't work/own IGPX, Cartoon Network or Production I.G. nor do I have anything to do with the music group, Exige. The following is purely fanfiction.**

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**Chapter 5:**

"Is that legal?" Andrei asked Miss Satomi, back at headquarters.

"It would seem so. After I found out during yesterday's meeting with High---"

Miss Satomi trailed off and looked down, with a look of frustraton on her face. Everyone else remained silent, understanding why she didn't want to continue on at that moment.

"Should we tell the others? Jesse asked, breaking the awkward silence.

Andrei folded his arms and shook his head.

"Not tonight; we'll tell them tomorrow."

"….High Wire told me what their plans were and, at first, I thought it was a joke. How could I be so stupid?" Miss Satomi said.

"We were all fooled, Michiru. We thought they wanted to sponsor us, but…why did the committee 'OK' it? Mark asked.

"After I was told, I called them up and they confirmed it. I asked why and the head of the committee said that it will be a 'new and exciting _challenge_.'"

"Whose idea was it for High Wire to race against Team Satomi?" Jesse asked.

Miss Satomi leaned against her desk and sighed.

"Mr. Yagato, the president of High Wire, was the one who proposed it, _but_ they wanted to go up against White Snow at first."

"A cheat versus a cheat; how appropriate," Mark said, sarcastically.

"Naturally, the committee declined, so then he proposed to go up against Team Sledge Mama," Miss Satomi said.

"Sledge Mama?" Andrei asked.

"So, we weren't the first choice?" Jesse asked.

"No, Mr. Yagato said that he thought Team Satomi was too _clean-cut_ for their taste."

"_Clean-cut_?! Andrei exclaimed, "Why? Because we actually_ follow_ the rules?"

"I don't know what their reasons are, but now we're stuck with them," Miss Satomi answered.

"When do we go up against Team…err…what do we call them?" Mark asked.

Andrei unfolded his arms.

"Well, I can think of a _few_ good names for them," he said.

Jesse and Miss Satomi giggled; for the latter, it was a welcome relief to finally smile.

"They're going to name the team after the their company…and the _trial _run is next week."

"NEXT WEEK?!" everyone asked in unison.

"But, that's so sudden," Jesse said.

Miss Satomi looked down and nodded her head.

"I know it's sudden, but---"

"But what? Nobody wanted us to get fully prepared?" Andrei asked, sounding a little irritated.

"Listen guys, I'm _not_ happy with this either, but as of now, it's out of my hands."

"Come on, we can do it…Takeshi and the others can handle it," Mark said, trying to cheer everyone up.

"Maybe we _should_ tell them tonight," Jesse said.

Andrei shook his head.

"I still say no; Amy is with her parents and Takeshi is out with Liz again. Tomorrow, we'll give them the full details. Tonight, let's give them a break."

Everyone else nodded their heads in agreement.  
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"Meow."

"I'm sorry, Luca, but I felt like walking home; it's such a nice night out."

"Meeoow."

"Yeah, me too. It's not everyday that I get to spend time with my parents. I just wished that neither of them had to go to a meeting---"

"Are you lost little girl?" Amy heard a woman ask, softly.

She spun around, but nobody was there, with the exception of some people entering a small café, across the street.

_"No way it came from them; the voice sounded like it was right in back of me,"_ she thought.

Luca jumped down from Amy's arms and hissed. Startled, Amy turned to look at him.

"You've never done _that_ before, Luca."

She picked him up, but Luca continued staring straight ahead, hissing some more. Amy started walking in the direction that Luca was hissing at, but stopped after taking a few steps.

_"I don't feel right about this,"_ she thought.

She started taking a few steps back, turned around, and quickly headed in the direction of the building that was closest to where she was…Satomi Headquarters.  
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Liz and Takeshi were now waiting for their dessert.

"Man, I'm stuffed," Liz said, while rubbing her stomach.

"_That's_ a surprise," Takeshi said.

Liz glared at him, but quickly turned her focus to the area around them.

"You know, I just want the construction to be over and done with."

"When are they going to start?"

"In two weeks, I think," she answered, not sounding too thrilled about it.

"That's not too far way, Liz."

"I know it's not, and I know I should be optimistic, but I'm also trying to be realistic; anything could go wrong."

Takeshi leaned forward.

"Everything will be fine; stop stressing."

Meanwhile, Kuya, their waiter, walked over to the small stereo and replaced one cd with another. After a few moments, they heard the soft voices of two girls singing a nice Japanese ballad. Liz recognized it as one of the songs that Jesse likes listening to while she's working.

"What the hell is the name of this group?" she mumbled.

"Exige," Takeshi quickly answered, but felt stupid when Liz looked at him funny.

"What? My sister listens to this song all the time."

"Yeah, sure…your_ sister_."

Just then, Takeshi stood up, walked over to where Liz was sitting, and stuck his hand out.

"Um, d-did you want to dance?" he nervously asked her.

Liz blushed a little, but didn't answer.

"Y-you don't have to…I was just as--"

"I'd love to," she interrupted.

They both blushed, as Liz stood up and took Takeshi's hand. They walked past the tables and stopped near a bed of flowers.

At first, they just stood there, feeling a little shy, but surprisingly, Liz was the one who took his right hand and placed it on her hip, while her right hand held onto his left hand. Their eyes metand a grin appeared on both their faces. They slowly started dancing to the music, when Takeshi pulled her closer to him; both of his arms wrapping around her waist. Liz slowly put her own arms around his neck; their eyes still locked on one another.

"Your dessert is ready," Kuya announced, as he was placing two plates of double chocolate swirl cheesecake on their table.

Takeshi and Liz were still off in their little world, unaware that Kuya was speaking to them.

"Your dessert is ready," he repeated, but they continued dancing, looking at one another, with a grin, still on their faces.  
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"OW!"

"Shh!"

"S-sorry, sir, but these pine needles are…jabbing into my sides."

"Deal with it, Davis."

"B-but, sir, I think one is stuck in my…"

"SHH! Keep quiet! We can't let them see us. Whose idea was it for us to hide in the damn trees, anyway?"

"Yours, sir," replied Davis.

"Oh, err, then…stop complaining! We have a great view of the_ lovebirds_ from up here. Our paper will sell thousands again!"

"Mr. Kanji, sir, didn't we sort of promised them that we will leave them alone, at least for awhile?"

"Don't be dumb, boy. Since when have tabloid reporters grown hearts?"

Davis just sighed.

"Besides, an inside source informed me about their little _gathering_ here, and I didn't want to refuse such a big story like this."

"_Inside source_?"

"Yeah, some guy…I think his name was Mr. Yagato."

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_Sorry it took long for this one...Chapter 6 is next._


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not work/own IGPX, Production I.G. or Cartoon Network. The following is a fanfic story.**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

_**CHAPTER 6:**_

"You can be a bitch at times, Rilana."

"What?! I just asked if she was lost."

"Is that all you said.?"

"Yes."

"Then why did I see you run behind a building when she was turning around?"

"Yeah, well, don't you have _anything _better to do than to watch me? OOOO, unless, you _like _what you see…"

"_Don't _flatter yourself, Rilana, besides, you know damn well that we are not to mess with their heads, that is, not until we're out on the track."

"Don't give me that crap, Charles! I saw you going into that gym that Takeshi and Liz were in."

"I needed a good workout and it so happened that I found _that _one."

Rilana squinted her eyes at him.

"Yeah, ok…now let me get this straight…you wanted a _good workout_, so you went out to look for a gym and it just so_ happened, _that you found the very _same _one that the teenie boppers were in?"

"Y-yes….problem?"

Rilana just shrugged her shoulders and rolled her eyes while taking another sip of her mocha flavored coffee, while Charles was eyeing her suspiciously.

"Rilana?" he asked.

"Hmmm?"

"How did you know that I was in that gym?"

She put down her cup and looked back at him, with a smirk on his face.

"Cuz I was following you, silly."

"'Don't _you _have anything better to do than to watch me?'" he asked, repeating what she asked him earlier.

Leaning forward in her seat, her smirk becoming into a seductive smile, she answered, "Because, my dear Charles, I _like _what I see…"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"_Yagato_?!" Davis asked.

"SHH! Yeah…Yagato," Mr. Kanji replied.

"Why would Mr. Yagato call _you_? Or better yet, how did _he _know where they were going to be tonight?"

Both remained silent as they thought about the latter.

Mr. Kanji sighed.

"I don't give a damn, really. We're here and we're getting some great shots of those two," he said, pointing down at Liz and Takeshi.

"B-but, still, why would Mr. Yagato care?"

"Who the HELL is this guy, Davis? I've never heard of Yagato before in my life!"

"Sir, everyone has heard of _Sento Yagato _and his franchise."

"Enlighten me."

"Well, he's the president of High Wire."

"_High_ _Wire?" _Mr. Kanji asked, looking more confused.

"Yes, sir," Davis replied.

Mr. Kanji seemed lost in thought for a moment.

"Davis…..what the HELL is High Wire?"

Davis gave out a long drawn out sigh.

"It's a new corporation, but they are becoming really popular with teens."

"A new corporation that deals with…._what_?"

"Gaming and computers," Davis answered.

"Oh, great, just what the world needs, more over priced internet garbage," Mr. Kanji said.

"Mr. Kanji, sir, aren't you wondering why Yaga…"

"Davis, if I hear you mention that man's name one more time, I'm going to push you off this damn tree! Just quit talking; you're giving me a headache," Mr. Kanji snapped back.

Davis nodded his head as Kanji continued taking pictures of the dancing couple below.

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"Desert's ready," Kuya repeated yet again, becoming a little more frustrated that Liz and Takeshi weren't paying attention to him.

He was _not_ the type who liked waiting, especially, _in his opinion_, for two _racing brats_, to finish dancing.

"_I hate this...I mean, I REALLY hate this," _he thought to himself.

His wide smile became a snarl, as he continued watching them.

"_Nothing more than children," _he thought.

Kuya walked over to the table near the chef, picked up a small metallic container that was filled with silverware and slammed it back down on the table, causing a shattering clunk!

Takeshi and Liz snapped out of their little world when they heard the noise. They looked over at their waiter, who had that wide annoying smile that Liz just couldn't stand.

"What happened?" Liz asked, upset that they were interrupted.

Kuya cleared his throat.

"I'm terribly sorry. I was merely helping the chef clean up this area, when I _foolishly_ dropped the silverware. I apologize."

"Oh, no worries," Takeshi said.

Liz huffed.

"Please, have a seat you two, desert's ready," Kuya said, motioning for them to go to their table.

He pulled out a chair for Liz, but she sat in Takeshi's seat instead. Takeshi just shrugged his shoulders as he glanced over at Kuya, who was looking back at Liz, with a wide smile on his face.

" _This cocky prick knows I hate that," _Liz was thinking, about his smile.

Takeshi sat in Liz's chair while Kuya placed their plates in front of them.

"_Relax_," Takeshi whispered to Liz, after seeing how pissed she looked. Liz huffed again.

"I hope this delicious cheesecake will make you forget my little _accident," _Kuya politely said, "Now, don't let this cake go to waste."

Takeshi chuckled.

"Not with Liz's appetite, it won't."

Under the table, Liz kicked Takeshi's leg. His face became a bright pink when the pain slowly seeped throughout his leg. Liz looked back at him, pretending as if she didn't know why he looked the way he did. Kuya watched the two interact and sighed.

"_Nothing more than children," _he thought again, as he walked back to the other table and started, for real this time, cleaning up the area.

Liz and Takeshi were eating their cheesecake, when Liz leaned forward.

"Takeshi, I'm real sorry, man."

Takeshi's face was still pink, but he too leaned forward.

"You do know that I'm just going to get even, right?" he asked, with a mischievous smile.

Liz smiled as she leaned closer to him.

"Aww, and I was just going to say if you wanted me to kiss it for you to make it feel better, but seeing how you're being an ass about it..."

Takeshi's face went from pink to red. Liz blushed as well, after she realized what she had just said to him out loud.

_"Nice, Liz, real nice," _she thought.

Takeshi laughed nervously.

"Already thinking about our _next _date, Liz?" he asked, after an awkward silence.

They both laughed nervously as they continued eating the rest of their desert. During that time, Kuya had walked over to the chef and whispered something to him. The chef, looked back at him, shook his hand, and walked off towards his jeep. Liz and Takeshi looked up as they heard the vehicle leaving.

"Oh, I'm sorry, but I thought that I would send him home early; he worked so hard in preparing your meal tonight and I figured that I would clean up myself," Kuya said.

"I would have liked to of thanked him," Takeshi said, sounding disappointed.

"Oh, I'm sure he knew how much you enjoyed his creations," Kuya replied.

Takeshi nodded his head and continued eating. Kuya put down the plates he was holding and walked towards the young couple, who looked up at him when he approached.

He bent down and placed his hands on the table.

"I'm sorry for bothering you, but I think that _now _is the perfect time for me to fully introduce myself…my name is _Kuya Ochida_, and from here on out, you will learn how _not _to keep me waiting like that again."

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Yes, I'm still here. Sorry for the LONG wait and sorry that this chapter is shorter than the others. :(


	7. Chapter 7

_**Disclaimer: **__**I do not work for or own IGPX, Production I.G. or Cartoon Network. The following is a fanfic story.**_

**_--_**

_**CHAPTER 7:**_

Back at Satomi Headquarters, Amy, who was still holding Luca in her arms, was now standing outside of Miss Satomi's office, catching her breath. Her fast pace from the coffee shop district quickly became a run as she thought about the woman's voice that she heard.

'_Are you lost, little girl?'_

"Something about that voice….it just didn't didn't feel right. You heard it too, didn't you, Luca?"

The cat quietly meowed back at her.

"I'm just being silly, aren't I? I probably misunderstood her or m-maybe she was talking to someone el….."

Amy's attention quickly switched over to the other side of Miss Satomi's office door when she heard someone saying her name. She was about to knock, when the door slid open to reveal Mark and his crew, leaving. In back of them, she saw Miss Satomi. Andrei, Jesse and Johnny. They all looked back at Amy, with a look of surprise on all their faces.

"A-Amy," Jesse stuttered, " Um, Hi."

Amy greeted everyone with a smile.

"W-what are you doing here?," Miss Satomi asked, as if she was caught doing something bad.

"Luca and I were walking home when…"

Amy trailed off when she remembered why she was even at Satomi Headquarters to begin with.

"You OK?" Jesse asked, interrupting her thoughts.

Amy nodded and smiled.

"We were just talking about you," Mark said.

"Yes, I heard," Amy responded.

"You heard?"

"Well, just my name being mentioned."

Amy could've sworn she heard all of them sighing, as if they were relieved. Miss Satomi, however, looked down at the floor, lost in thought. Andrei glanced over at her.

"Michiru…?"

"Andrei, should we just tell her now?" she asked him.

"Tell me what?" Amy asked.

Andrei sighed.

"Your call, Michiru," he said.

Miss Satomi thought for a minute.

"Guys, I'm going to need a moment alone with Amy."

Everyone nodded their heads and were heading out the door, when Johnny stopped next to Amy.

"_No matter what, I know you guys can do it,"_ he whispered to her.

Amy didn't know what he was exactly talking about, but she thanked him anyway, as he patted Luca on the head and left with the others.

When the office was cleared, Miss Satomi motioned for Amy to take a seat on the couch.

"Is everything OK?" Amy asked, though she knew it wasn't.

"Well, something came up that's going to require some extra effort from the team."

"Like what?"

Miss Satomi sighed.

"You've heard of High Wire, right?"

"Only that they might sponsor us."

Miss Satomi sighed again as she looked over at Luca, who was now sitting on top of her office window counter, napping.

"_Sponsor us…right," _she thought to herself.

"They decided not to?" Amy asked, sounding a little disappointed.

"Amy, that wasn't the plan at all."

"What do you mean?"

"They...they have their own team."

"Own team? I thought…"

"We all did," Miss Satomi interrupted, " But, I'm the one who jumped the gun and assumed that they wanted to be a part of the team…not against."

Amy glanced over at Luca, who was awake again and watching a firefly outside the window.

"I know it's bad news, but it could be worse. At least we're not _loosing_ a sponsor," Amy said, sounding cheerful.

Miss Satomi walked back to her desk and leaned against it.

"Actually, Amy, it may get worse."

--

"I thought Team White Snow was our biggest challenge yet," Mark said to everyone as they were walking down the corridor.

"Hell, it may even be another learning experience," Andrei said, " But, that doesn't mean that I'm not pissed at the situation."

"It's still not fair though," Jesse said, sounding a little hurt, "Are the officials _bored _with how the races are going? And how come they _instantly _qualify to go straight to the IG-1 if they beat us?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure we'll get more info as time goes on," Andrei answered.

Frowning, Jesse looked down.

"I can't help, but get the feeling that Miss Satomi didn't tell us everything."

Everyone looked at her, surprised.

"Why would she not tell us everything?"

"I don't know…to protect us…to not make us more worried. I just _feel _that she didn't tell us everything. That's all," Jesse said, still looking unhappy.

Everyone was quiet for awhile, until Johnny broke the silence.

"I should get going. I'm sure my mom is getting our dinner ready."

"We're sorry, Johnny. This day didn't go quite as planned," Jesse said, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"Not your fault guys. I still had a good time and I know your all going to beat that dumb team, High Wire," Johnny responded, with a big smile on his face.

Everyone smiled at him, except for Andrei, who appeared to be lost in thought.

--

"Excuse us?" Takeshi asked, as Kuya continued to stare down at them.

"I think you, _children, _heard me," he replied.

"_CHILDREN?!" _Liz shouted, " Who the _hell _do you think you are?!"

"Hmm, I do recall telling you my name earlier. What's the matter? Were your tiny little brains unable to store it in your memory?"

"_WHAT?!" _Liz shouted.

Her face was getting red as her anger mounted.

Takeshi himself was getting upset, but this whole situation was getting weirder by the minute.

"What the heck is going on here? Have we met before or something?" Takeshi asked, trying to stay calm.

"No, no. We never met before, but I certainly know all about you and the rest of your team."

"OK, then tell us why you're acting like...like…"

"A complete _ass!" _Liz chimed in, still glaring up at Kuya.

Kuya stared back at Liz, with a smile on his face.

"I don't know what Takeshi sees in you, Liz Ricardo. You are quite…hmm, what's the correct term for you...ahh, you are quite… _bitchy._"

Liz was speechless while Takeshi's face was getting red. He stood up and pushed Kuya as hard as he could, causing him to fall on his back. Kuya quickly rebounded and instantly got up.

Face to face now, Kuya stared down at Takeshi, but Takeshi didn't let him get to him.

"And you, _kid, _you still feel a little unsure about yourself, don't you?" Kuya asked Takeshi with a smirk on his face.

"Not that it's any of your damn business, but, no, I don't."

"Meh, if you say so."

Kuya backed off of Takeshi and was turning around to face Liz again, when he saw nothing, but a fist in front of him. Next thing he knew, he was falling on his back again.

Liz looked down at him, rubbing the hand she just punched him with. Takeshi looked back at her and couldn't help but smile at her.

"Not so tough down there, huh?" Liz asked Kuya.

Kuya rubbed the left part of his face, still glaring up at her.

"That's it Miss Ricardo. Play dirty. Hit me when I wasn't prepared and my back was turned. Thought your so-called team manager taught you better than that."

"What do you know about…"

"My, how _easily _we forget. I did say that I know all about you and the rest of the team. Maybe you should talk to the lovely, Michiru."

"You leave her alone!"

"I have nothing against her. I merely suggested that you talk to her."

"Why the hell should we do what you say?"

"Because we will meet again...very soon, I might add," Kuya responded, as he was getting up and rubbing the dirt off his pant leg.

"Meet where and why?" Liz asked, sounding more irritated by the minute.

Kuya looked back at her and was inching his way towards her when Takeshi stepped in between the two.

"You're not getting any closer to her," Takeshi said, coldly.

"I don't want to anyway, _kid_."

A few seconds later, the limo that dropped Liz and Takeshi off earlier, was heading up the path. The dinner date was finally over.

"Ah, your chariot awaits you."

"We're not leaving until you tell us what the hell is going on," Takeshi said.

Kuya smile became a frown.

"Talk to your precious, Michiru. We will meet again, kiddies, but, next time, it will be on the race track."

Liz and Takeshi looked at each other.

"Race track?"

"Yes, race track. You know that long track where you _race_…"

"WE KNOW WHAT IT IS!!" Liz shouted.

Their attention went back to the limo, as the driver stepped out of the car, and politely asked if they were ready.

"Uhh, no, actually, we still need to clear up a few..." Takeshi trailed off as he turned back towards Kuya's direction, but was surprised when Kuya wasn't there.

Liz started looking around, but there was no sign of him anywhere.

"W-where did he go?" she asked Takeshi.

"Your guess is as good as mines," he responded.

"_How the hell did he disappear like that?" _Liz thought to herself.

The limo driver was opening the back door to let Takeshi and Liz in, when he spotted something on the floor.

"Excuse me, sir, but, I think you dropped something."

Takeshi looked down and saw what looked like a business card. He picked it up and read the inscription.

"_Hope you enjoyed your dinner, courtesy of HIGH WIRE. See on the track."_

Liz looked at the card and was more confused than ever.

"High Wire? The company that's going to sponsor us?"

Takeshi read and re-read the inscription. He turned towards Liz.

"Maybe we should talk to Miss Satomi," he said.

Liz nodded.

Takeshi turned back towards the limo driver.

"Will it be ok if you can drop us off at Satomi Headquarters?"

The limo driver smiled and nodded. Takeshi took Liz's hand as they walked back to the limo.

"Liz, I'm real sorry about tonight. I promise I'll make it up to you."

Liz smiled at him.

"It's fine. Let's see what she has to say and we'll take it from there."

"That was one heck of a punch you gave him. Impressive."

Liz blushed.

"Yeah, well, he had it coming. And listen, thank you for standing up for me."

Takeshi blushed too.

"Anything for my girl," he replied, smiling.

Liz blushed even more and looked out the limo window, pretending she didn't hear him.

"Satomi Headquarters, sir?" the driver asked.

"Yes, please and Thank You, Takeshi answered.

"_We're go__nna get to the bottom of this," _he thought to himself, as the limo pulled out of the path and back out onto the street, heading towards the headquarters.

--

I know I know, VERY LONG DELAY, and i apologize. I'll try to get chapter 8 up soon!


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